TBS Wraps Up Best Week in Network History behind MLB League Division SeriesTBS’s exclusive coverage of the MLB League Division Series (LDS) led the network to its most-viewed week in the 33-year history of the network. For the 2009 LDS, TBS garnered double-digit increases in ratings, total viewers and households. Over the course of 13 LDS games, TBS averaged a 3.1 US household rating, up 11%, and an 11% increase in total viewers (4,769,000 vs. 4,282,000) when compared to the 2008 LDS. In addition, the 2009 LDS has averaged 3,575,000 households, an increase of 11%. For Release: October 13, 2009

TBS Wraps Up Best Week in Network History behind MLB League Division Series

TBS’s exclusive coverage of the MLB League Division Series (LDS) led the network to its most-viewed week in the 33-year history of the network. For the 2009 LDS, TBS garnered double-digit increases in ratings, total viewers and households. Over the course of 13 LDS games, TBS averaged a 3.1 US household rating, up 11%, and an 11% increase in total viewers (4,769,000 vs. 4,282,000) when compared to the 2008 LDS. In addition, the 2009 LDS has averaged 3,575,000 households, an increase of 11%.

Last week, TBS averaged 5.4 million viewers, 4.0 million households, 1.1 million adults 18-34, 2.5 million adults 18-49 and 2.5 million adults 25-54 in primetime. In addition, TBS was ad-supported cable’s #1 network for the week in primetime and on a total day basis among households, viewers and key demographics.
For TBS’s six days of MLB Postseason coverage, the network saw strong growth in all key demos when compared to 2008, including:
A18-34: +11%; 956,000 this year vs. 859,000 in 2008
A18-49: +7%; 2,057,000 vs. 1,925,000
A25-54: +5%; 2,141,000 vs. 2,030,000
M18-34: +11%; 642,000 vs. 579,000
M18-49: +7%; 1,410,000 vs. 1,321,000
M25-54: +4%; 1,472,000 vs. 1,413,000

In addition, TBS had several other notable deliveries for the week:
Among total viewers, TBS’s average primetime delivery marked an extraordinary 232% improvement over its prior-week average (1.6 million).
In total day, TBS delivered 2.0 million viewers; 1.5 million households; 483,000 adults 18-34; 962,000 adults 18-49; and 944,000 adults 25-54. The network beat its previous best week ever (Oct. 1-7, 2007) in all five total day categories.
Including the MLB Tiebreaker on TBS, the network’s Major League Baseball coverage out-delivered cable primetime and total day on five of the seven days last week.
The American League Division Series Game #3 between the Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees was TBS’s most-watched program since the 2008 American League Championship Series Game #7 between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays (Oct. 19, 2008). The Twins/Yankees game was also the most-watched LDS game since Oct. 8, 2007 (Game 4 of the Indians-Yankees LDS series).

Each LDS had strong ratings and household deliveries:
The Minnesota Twins/New York Yankees series earned a 4.2 U.S. household rating and 6,616,000 total viewers.
The Twins/Yankees series averaged a 21.2 rating in the Minneapolis/St. Paul market and a 14.3 rating in the New York market.
The St. Louis Cardinals/Los Angeles Dodgers series delivered a 3.1 U.S. household rating, and 4,721,000 total viewers.
The Cardinals/Dodgers series averaged a 18.1 rating in the St. Louis market and a 8.3 rating in the Los Angeles market.
The Colorado Rockies/Philadelphia Phillies series earned a 2.5 U.S. household rating and 3,816,000 total viewers.
The Rockies/Phillies series averaged a 18.7 rating in the Philadelphia market and a 13.6 rating in the Denver market.
The Boston Red Sox/Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim series earned a 2.6 U.S. household rating and 3,966,000 total viewers.
The Red Sox/Angels series averaged a 13.9 rating in the Boston market and a 7.3 rating in the Los Angeles market.

TBS’s exclusive coverage of the National League Championship Series (NLCS) will begin on Thursday, Oct. 15, with the Los Angeles Dodgers hosting the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies at 8 p.m. (ET), preceded by the MLB On Deck pregame show at 7:30 p.m. (ET).

Source: Based on Nielsen Media Research, Live + Same Day data. MLB League Divisional Series FINAL TBS, 10/07/09 - 10/12/09 vs. 10/01/08 - 10/06/08